What can you expect from a team like the Detroit Red Wings right now? Not much, given the lack of, well, impact players.
Thusday night’s tilt with Carolina at Little Caesars Arena was a tight, low-scoring affair with very little room of mistakes. That’s usually how these games with the Hurricanes go. Annoying and challenging. Such is the case for this one.
If you get past oopsie-daisy goal by Justin Holl and Ville Husso, it wasn’t all bad for Detroit.. I can’t say the same for the ESPN+ broadcast, which mispronounced names of several players throughout the night. That was the cherry ontop of this shit-sundae.
1st Period
Hot out of the gate.
The Wings showed a lot of energy to start until Alex DeBrincat had to serve time in the penalty box. Detroit killed the penalty off efficiently, but not long after reaching even-strength, Carolina struck. Jack Drury picked up his fourth goal of the season thanks to a sick pass from Stefan Noesen. Drury found a soft spot on Husso’s short side. Michael Rasmussen was caught watching the puck and not his man, pretty much leaving Ville Husso out to dry.
Detroit had some moments of sustained pressure but otherwise this 20 minutes of hockey was all Carolina. Husso had a handful of big saves to keep it close, but it could have easily been a two-goal deficit going into the second period.
Wings were granted a power-play late in the first, with a one-minute overlap in the second period.
2nd Period
A similar start to the middle frame, with Michael Rasmussen taking a penalty in the early stages. A successful penalty kill would actually make way for Rasmussen to score his seventh goal of the season. It was an absolute laser from Moose — something we don’t see very often!:
Ville Husso had played really well up until Carolina would score their second goal. Jordan Stall, who still hasn’t retired, got a juicy bounce on a misplay from Husso:
The momentum shifted to Carolina after Staal’s goal, a few chances from the Wings but the Canes did a really good job at boxing them out. So it’s 2-1 going into the final period, with Detroit on the PP for less than a minute.
3rd Period
I wish I could write some exciting story of a gutsy comeback, but I can’t. The Carolina Hurricanes did an excellent job at keeping Detroit’s battered roster contained and off the scoreboard. In the late stages of the third, Carolina was given a power play which basically nixed any chance of a game-tying goal.
FINAL: 2-1, Hurricanes
Looking on the Bright Side
- Ville Husso looked sharp aside from his one mishap that led to the GWG.
- The penalty kill performed well and held Carolina scoreless.
- JT Compher back soon? (please)
Gotta try and remind ourselves the situation this team is in right now. It’s not great. They’re down four forwards right now, all of them are key roleplayers on this roster. It’s awfully difficult to win games when you’re battling something of that magnitude. The slump should be temporary.
The Red Wings are off Friday and head to Philadelphia Saturday. The hope is that Compher will be available, but we’ll have to wait and see. Mercy.
